Stories in Stone, Luna's Royal Guard.

by TDR

A Pound of Rocks or a Pound of Feathers

Stories in Stone
Luna's Royal Guard
by TDR

A Pound of Rocks, or a Pound of Feathers

Fluttershy's eyes calmly met Pinkie Pie's. Pinkie Pie seemed to strain a little at the gaze, and was making all manner of faces at the pale yellow pegasus. Twilight stood nearby, an annoyed expression on her face. The two had been like this, eyes locked for almost an hour now.

Pinkie Pie had come over to watch Twilight for the night while she scryed on the sword. Fluttershy had come over, at Rarity's behest, to return the book she had borrowed, and check up on the progress of the story. Eventually the pink maned pegasus decided to stay her self to try and catch up on the progress Twilight was making.

Some how between dinner and when Twilight was going to start her research, the unicorn had been present the whole time and still did not know how, her friends wound up engaged in a staring contest. Though judging by the strain Pinkie was showing it couldn't last much longer.

The purple pony grumbles to herself leaving the pair to their contest as she sets up her table for study readying a new pot of ink and a few spare quills to take notes with. She had tweaked Celestia's spell a bit again allowing her to write what she saw as she saw it. Though her hoof writing was still atrocious doing that. Of course by this point Spike had learned to read it better than she could and translated it for her when she was done, copying the words into the books.

Still Twilight was a little leery every time she went into the spell lately. All she had been seeing was dark events and foreshadowing of things she knew came to pass. The last time she was shaken rather hard by what Jer'rahd had turned into. She knew of no spell that could do anything even remotely close to that. The idea that he might still know the spell that could do that made her both worried about setting him free as well as excited to see if she could deconstruct the spell to find a counter or at least study it. She shook her head sighing, that was not something to think about now.

The five Bearers of the Elements had done a great deal of good at first, but now she was seeing the transformation of them into what Princess Celestia had referred to as the Beasts of the Moon.

Rhede's motivation was something she could actually get behind. She had no idea what she would do if something happened to her parents or her brother. She nearly lost it just at his wedding, but thankfully that turned out well enough in the end. However she did not like how he went about using that motivation.

Velkorn, so far had not shown any signs that she had any darkness in her, save for how pissed off she got with the Princess. Granted having experienced it once when Princess Celestia had caught a rather bad case of the flu somehow she knew the alicorn goddess was quite annoying when bed ridden.

Bleu and Starfall had both gone off the deep end at least once each. Starfall with the griffons and Bleu with the dragons camp ion the pass, but she could not see either of them doing anything to earn a title like what the Princess had called them.

Jer'rahd however was, literally a beast now. Everything he did however ,was still at the behest or the goal of protecting Princess Luna and his friends, but she could easily see how that could be used against him as well.

She took a last glance back at the two on the couch and sighs.

“Ummm girls. I'm activating the spell now.”

“Oki. Doki. Loki. Have fun.”

“Umm. Alright Twilight. Be careful.”

The purple unicorn grumbles as neither of them even turned away from their contest. If something happened she hoped at least Fluttershy would give up to help her out. She mutters the spell and slips into the starry expanse.

The extra window to Jer'rahd was gone, the sword and his sword shard had joined back together again. At least that made things a little more simple. A thought crossed Twilight's mind. If she could get a hold of one of those shards of the original sword, perhaps she could find out what all the fuss was over Jer'rahd's grandfather. Maybe she could even figure out why the family had changed its name. It would be a interesting study point later on. But to find any of that out, the five needed to be freed, or Twilight needed to ask Princess Luna if she still had her shard of it. She doubted the latter, and everyone needed to agree for the former to happen.

In any event, neither of these options would be viable if Twilight could not finish this assignment. She needed to push past the fears and remember that anything done in this scry was all in the far past, and would not effect her now.

She steels herself, turning and diving into a window.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

A black furred pegasus clad in the dark armor of the Shadow bolts lands lightly near the craters edge , the down draft off his wings kicking up a minor dust devil as he looks to the mare standing on the lip of the hole offering her a salute, though she barely spares him a glance.

“Report lieutenant.”

“Sir. All teams have checked back in, there is barely anything left in the crater than can be called a city. What isn't crushed or melted is currently on fire. There are several strange gasses coming off some of the rocks that make any one who flies too near them sick, but nothing else of note from the pit. From what we can tell there is a great deal of gold, and quite a lot of strange rocks Sir. Nothing of any value to us with out a rather large mining operation. With as hazardous as some of the gas in there is , I would hazard it is not worth the effort. We had to utilize a variation of a high altitude breathing spell in order to even check it out.”

“What of the mountain?”

“Sir. There is no sign there ever was a mountain. The location where it was reported to be is nothing but a glowing hole. The heat and gas coming out of it are stronger than the rest of the crater so we are unable to get close enough to investigate further. But it is clear that most of the impacts from the fire rain hit that spot. What ever caused that phenomenon, it was centered where the mountain was supposed to be Sir.”

“Thank you for your work Lieutenant, I will report that to the Princess.”

“Yes sir......”

“Something else?”

“Yes sir. I suppose so. Most of us, the other troops I mean, are worried about General Kaisur's condition since he was recovered...”

“But you're not?”

“No Sir.. I mean, Yes sir.... I don't know what to think honestly. I was there when that thing came out of the crater. I saw who it turned into..... I have never seen anything like that before. I have never even heard of anything like that before and I used to be rather big into the old fantasy novels. What is going on Sir?”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with Lieutenant. If there comes a time where it needs to be told to you it will be. Right now just know that General Kaisur is back among us and the push towards Cindervale will start again. Head to the mess, grab something to eat and take a break. I will have another assignment for your team soon.”

“YES SIR.”

Starfall watches the stallion take, off her eyes narrowing at the thought that some ponies thought something was not right with Jer'rahd. The troops were a little worried, despite her best efforts rumors of the pit had gotten out. Rhede would be arriving soon and she could throw him into the rumor mill, let him make a mess of everything for any one finding the truth. He was quite good at that sort of misdirection, far better than she was at any rate. She fully expected by the end of the week for the troops to be blaming the monster on everything from swamp gas, a balloon, or even some sort of alien attack.

Her own team however, was not going to be fooled. The Shadow Bolts were not chosen because they were stupid. Thankfully, they were chosen for loyalty, among other things, and had yet to add their own version of what they saw to the mess.

Starfall turns looking back over the tent city that had been set up on the craters edge. This was a fairly defensible position. The crater's toxic gasses and still burning fires blocked their back and high rocks and and earth lifted into the air by the initial impact flanked either side of the camp. The tent city was on a bit of a rise too so it was quite easy to see everything coming before them. That did not stop her from setting up more than a few scout patrols to watch the back side of the crater. She also had a few scouting out along the edge of the plains before the camp. Cindervale was barely a day away from this point and the tall spire of volcano that was its main structure was visible even from here.

Right now it was hurry up and wait however. Jer'rahd had not woken up and Bleu was nearly crippled. Velkorn and Rhede were supposed to be here soon according to her scouts. When the zebra arrived she was going to have her hooves full with Bleu and possibly Jer'rahd. So far as the medics knew there was nothing physically wrong with him he just would not wake up.

The Princess had been watching over her general, but it was a leery sort of watch and she was always jumpy as if expecting him to wake at any time and try to kill her. Starfall had expected odd things to happen in a war, every battle she had been in was unusual, this had gone past that and into the down terrifyingly strange.

============================================

“SOME PONY GET HIS LEGS!”

“GAH!! MY NOSE!”

“CAST THE BUCKING SPELL YOU IDIOT!!”

“IT'S NOT WORKING HE'S SHRUGGING OFF THE ANESTHESIA!!”

“SOME ONE GET THE PRINCESS WE CAN'T HOLD HIM!”

Several unicorn medics were all but piled atop the thrashing form on the bed. One staggers away falling back on his rump clutching his nose with a hoof as blood dripped from it. Another light blue unicorn was casting spells franticly trying to stun or put the gray unicorn on the bed in some sort of stasis , but nothing was taking hold.

Jer'rahd had been unconscious since the princess had brought him back from the crater. She had stayed with him for most of the night though she was needed to plan the next step of the operation and had to leave the medical tent. Barely an hour after that the medic who had been watching him noticed he had started to squirm and eventually thrash. It had gotten to the point where the doctors tried to intervene before he hurt himself. So far they were having no luck with that at all.

They had given up on the spells and were trying to tie the pony tot he bed when the tent flap was flung open admitting a zebra who took one look at the situation and glowered at the lot of them. .

“ LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY, GET THE BUCK OUT OF MY WAY!”

Velkorn darts forward pushing a medic out of the way and tilting her head to the side quickly to avoid a flailing limb. She frowns, lashing out with her fore hoof and striking three spots on his neck. Jer'rahd's limbs suddenly go limp though he still squirms as his head jerking as his teeth grind. Velkorn growls lightly at having to resort to this on a unconscious pony.

“Tell me now, and be quite clear, what exactly happened here?”

The lead medic, a dark green earth pony with a white mane and tail, who now sported a bloodied nose, spoke up.

“No idea sir. He was out cold with no issue all day while Princess Luna was here. When she left to ready the troops he started thrashing like this and then you came in. Sir.”

The zebra sighs again, looking down at the still trembling form of Jer'rahd. She blinked a bit confused at the odd nature of the scars that seemed to be covering him.

“All of you are dismissed, take a break, or get some food from the wagon. Though at least one of you needs to look about and find me that annoying little blue dragon.”

===================================================

“This is going to sound odd coming from me Rhede, but you look like hell.”

“No flirting? No teasing or pet names Bleu? I guess I need to look like crap more often.”

Rhede trotted up to the reclining dragon. Bleu was wrapped in bandages still and most of them had a fair sized amount of blood dried on them. Her wings were tight against her back , but Rhede could easily see they were in tatters. He winced in spit of himself moving to take a seat next to her glancing up at the command tent where Princess Luna was yelling at some unlucky pony.

“Don't get used to it, I am not in the mood to do to much for the moment is all.”

“I will keep that in mind. What happened here any way? The camp is some distance from where you were supposed to be according to Luna's message and you look like you fell into a wagon full of glass and swords that was on fire and was then put out with some acid.”

“Awww you say the sweetest things. Least I don't look like some body killed my puppy then flogged me with its entrails like you do.”

“I suppose we can set aside the commentary for facts?”

Bleu shifts wincing a little as she adjusts herself on the sun warmed rock. She lifts her head glancing at the tent after a particularly loud bout of shouting.

“How longs she been at that Bleu?”

“At least an hour, some supplies that should have been packed when we left the pass were left behind. No idea what was in them however, probably food or something and shes been chewing out the ones responsible. I doubt she would even do more than reprimand the officer in charge normally, but the situations a bit hectic. She's stressed with what happened to Boss and she's been on edge since we found him. She's been taking it out on any one who even looks at her funny. Of course now that you're here she'll have some one to yell at who deserves it.”

“Thank you so much.... what happened to Jer?”

“We got caught on a scouting run while Starfall was busy, he stayed behind so I could make it back to report and I almost didn't, after I left I don't know what happened. Next time we saw him, he turned back into a pony from being a huge monster, then he passed out. He's been that way for at least a day now.”

“ A monster? I miss all the interesting things. How are you holding up?”

“I'll live..... worse thing I have to deal with is Velkorn when she finally gets a hold of me.”

“Heh most likely. I do hope those supplies were not vital though.”

“Why?”

“Because we will not be getting any more support from Canterlot. Celestia is awake and she is cutting all ties with this war effort in an attempt to get Luna to give it up and come home.”

“That won't stop her or me. It certainly won't stop Boss when he wakes up. I think at this point the three of us would take on the entire dragon army by ourselves. Besides the Guard is trained to live off the land in harder times. How does the Princess think stopping supplies is gonna stop us.”

“Trained to do so and forced to do so are too different things Bleu. Moral is already seems low in this camp and the news of Celestia's cease of supplies will not help if the ponies we have need to fight and forage for food. But I am glad that no one is quitting, because I don't want this to be over until Cindervale is little more than a bad memory.”

“Feeling a bit blood thirsty today Rhede?”

Rhede sighs not wanting to explain his mood to the little dragon. Telling Velkorn was bad enough, he was never much of one to talk about his feelings at the best of times.

“Something like that. Seems the yelling is over. Wish me luck Bleu.”

“Good Luck Sugar Plot.”

“Ahh yes, there's the annoying Bleu I know and try to ignore. Looks like Velkorn is ready for you now as well, good luck to you too.”

Bleu blinks lifting her head looking over her shoulder, seeing a brown earth pony in medical colors, with what seemed like a rag stuffed in his nose run towards her.

“Ah crap.”

======================================================

“So tell me Rhede. How bad is it?”

Rhede trots in as the ponies the Princess was yelling at dart out, ecstatic to have the distraction that he was providing as a way to escape. The tent was unfurnished save for a large table in the middle of the room with a map stretched out over it. Luna was standing on the other side of it all but glaring at him her star filled tail whipping angrily.

“In regards to what? I have a mixture of news you know.”

“You and Velkorn would not have come if my sister was not healed well enough to be on her own. I doubt she had anything good to say about what we are doing here.”

Rhede sighs wishing he could delay the report a bit. At least until after he found out what was going on with Jer.

“Fairly bad Princess. Celestia has cut off any new supplies from being delivered to us. She's also urging the families of the troops here to send letters requesting the ponies come home. She had started a campaign to end this battle before it even gets started and so far we are only just ahead of her plans. I managed to stall quite a few things with a bit of misdirection and conflicting orders, as well as pulling in a few favors. We managed to bring enough supplies in to keep the army going on its own for another week or so. But once what we brought is gone we either need to take supplies from the dragons or head back to Equestria. Your sister is not stupid and knows I had a hoof in screwing up her plans to bring you back, she also knows about my part in the peace conference. Most likely I am looking at a bit of jail time when we go back so I am in no rush to do so.”

“Perfect, more morale issues. We just entered into the dragon lands and I already have a slew of ponies talking about deserting. Don't get me started on how many are convinced we will fail now due to the rumors running around about General Kaisur. I do not think I ever considered how many of these ponies think more of him than they do of me. Now my own sister works against me. Rhede I need you to do what you can to keep any of Tia's plans from happening until we are done. Some rumor control would be nice too.”

“Morale is not really my thing, Princess. That's Bleu's department. Though usually Jer's very presence is enough to keep the morale up. What happened with him to change that?”

“I am surprised Bleu did not inform you while you were outside waiting.”

“She told me a bit, but not everything. Something about Jer being a monster. I figured when she said that you would know more about it.”

Luna narrows her eyes not sure if that was a stab at her new look or what. Rhede tended to be hard to read most of the time , but she could practically feel the anger coming off of him in waves.

“Yes, well that is the case, but even I am not sure of the exact details. I suppose when he wakes up we can ask him directly what went on. Granted with how he answers, IF he answers we may have more issues than simply morale.”

“How so?”

“As I told Bleu and Starfall when we first came to this spot. I may need to destroy him.”

Rhede's eyes narrow as he glares at the Princess. Luna does not meet his gaze and seems rather upset that she was forced to say that, even her strange starry night mane seemed a little more subdued at her words.

“There had better be a damn good reason you are saying that Luna.”

“It has to do with the ritual I underwent. It seems there was enough of a bleed of the power to affect Jer'rahd as well. I do not know what this means exactly, and the books are not forth coming with any information.”

“The books? What books?”

“Never mind. How did your mission go at the peace conference?”

“I am not through asking you about this Luna. Princess or not, I have had enough deaths in my family to have Jer's added as well.”

“”I do understand, but you do not understand the situation.”

“Because you won't bucking tell me!”

“Trust me that it would be better for everyone if this has a hold of him that he die here.”

Rhede growls lightly not wanting to hear this cryptic crap , but Luna seemed intent on it for the time being.

“You ask for a great deal of ponies to trust you, but you rarely give anything back in return. The griffons won't be a factor unless they manage to stop the war they found themselves in at the conference. In either case they won't be here to bother us outside whatever mercs the dragons already bought. The other races were easily bribed to stay away with bits of land and resources that might be in the dragon lands.”

“As we expected.”

“Yes. Now back to Jer.....”

“No Rhede. I do not wish to speak of this. I have no desire to even think about what I may need to do when he wakes up and I wish to speak of it even less. You were not there to see what he was when he crawled out of that pit. That thing radiated death and terror the likes of which I have never felt in my long life. I have never seen anything like it, and if that thing has control over him or can break free any time then it is better that he dies before it gets loose. In any event I do not wish to speak on it further until I know for sure. You are dismissed.”

“Luna...”

“I said you are dismissed General. Leave me.”

Rhede steps back at the sudden tone change in her voice. She went from her normal tone to something much deeper and more sinister, yet at the same time seductive and suggestive. It was easy to pick up on her anger, yet her voice changing threw him for a moment. The tone shifted from anger and fear to amusement and superiority. His ears flatten to his head as he turns heading out of the tent. He had been trained in a great many things as both a assassin and a diplomat picking up on changes of mood though voice and facial expressions was a easy trick to learn. He had never seen some one change their entire mood like that mid sentence, something was very wrong here. What ever happened to Luna was more than just cosmetic, he wanted, no, he needed to know exactly what had happened to her and Jer.

If the Princess tried to kill his friend no matter what her intent then she would have to kill him and likely Bleu first. He did not see the dragonling stepping aside to allow that. Depending on how attached Velkorn still was to him she may even move to stop Luna. What worried him was that out of the five of them Luna was closest to Jer. Almost as close as he and Rhede were, perhaps more so if she returned the crush that Jer had on her. That she would even talk about killing him for any reason was proof enough that this was a bad situation.

===========================================

“Ooooooooow. That hurts, quit poking me!”

Velkorn snorts at Bleu's whining, she had not even done anything more than unwrap some of the dragons bandages so far. The zebra medic had been looking over the still thrashing Jer'rahd when Bleu sulked in. At which point she promptly left the pony alone and nearly flung the much larger lizard onto a couple of beds shoved together. Just seeing Bleu's wings alone was enough for her to start cursing though once she started unwrapping the wounds she had to invent new words for how badly the aid Bleu had been given was botched.

Which ever of the ponies who had attended to Bleu had done the shoddiest patch job Velkorn had ever seen. The stitches were not tight, nothing seemed disinfected and several of her scales had been stitched together in places rather than the skin beneath. Even the bandaging had basicly been thrown over the wounds and left. Velkorn sighs, either who ever did this was an idiot or hated dragons enough to not care about if an allied dragon suffered or not. She glanced back at Jer'rahd quite glad he was not awake to notice this. She would find out who did it and have a word with them, if Jer'rahd found out about this some pony would be dead, or wishing they were. It was a testament to the toughness of dragons , or at least Bleu that she was still functioning at all.

In any event this was going to take a great deal of work. She ordered one of the unicorns over to provide a local anesthetic spell as she tore out the stitching on the blue dragon. She gripped a few of the shattered scales ripping those out as well watching how Bleu flinched even though she could not feel it. Once the broken scales were cleared she started sewing the cut flesh underneath up. The scales would grow back in time and likely never even show the scar that was on the her skin.

The wounds were still seeping blood and Velkorn needed to clean the wounds much more thoroughly since they had been clearly oozing for several days now since the botched treatment. Velkorn shook her head with this much of a mess a pony would have bled to death by now, a pony sized dragon it seemed was quite fine with it. She needed to check that book on dragons she had found again, perhaps there was something on that. She had left it at the castle with the others however , not wishing to risk such precious tomes on a battle field.

[“Do you have any idea how close you have been to dieing Bleu?”]

[“Well I have been feeling a little light headed and sick, but I figured that was just from the injuries or the poison on the griffons claws.”]

[“ Poison?!”]

[“It's kinda hard to poison a dragon Velky, anything strong enough to do so would not likely be allowed by the dragons that hired the griffons. Not to mention it probably would have eaten the metal claws they were using.”]

[“ GAAAAH, you are seriously trying for my new worst patient ever title Bleu.”]

[“Ummm sorry? OW”]

Velkorn grumbles working on the dragon as the unicorn medic stood by numbing the areas the Zebra pointed to on the dragon, but clearly having no idea what either were saying past the “ow's” of Bleu.

[“So how is boss Velky?”]

[“I am surprised you did not ask me when you first came in.”]

[“With the look you were, OW, giving me, I didn't dare. Now I can't see your face with that rump of yours in the way.”]

[“If you make a rude comment about my having flank I shall conveniently forget to tell the unicorn here to numb the next part I am going to work on.”]

[“I'll be good...... but about Boss...”]

Velkorn sews up a particularly long oozing gash covering it with a generous amount of poultice to kill infection and aid healing before moving to wound to repeat the process.

[“I have no idea...”]

Velkorn pauses to grip the scale in her teeth yanking it out, cutting the stitches with a small hoof blade.

[“He is as healthy as I have ever seen him save for three things. The first of course being that he won't wake up, and as such is clearly having nightmares again.”]

[“That explains the thrashing about. I bet the fangs are the next thing whats the last?”]

Velkorn remains silent as she sews up the ragged wound splattering it with the odd herbal mixture again before bandaging it..

[“ Yes the fangs are odd, but not unheard of in cases I have seen of botched spells. His scars are what bother me. They are not normal skin for a pony anyway. The flesh is healed, but the skin is more akin to a dragons in texture and thickness. “]

[“So what hes gonna grow scales?”]

[“ He looks like he did have scales and they were ripped away already. I have never seen anything like it before. Even in all the books were brought back I have not seen any thing that could relate to this. I had plenty of time to go over and translate most of them while watching the Princess.”]

[“So what, did he get bitten by a were dragon or something?”]

[ “I do not know. But I doubt it would be something that simple most of his wounds were made by weapons there are no bite marks that I can find. Perhaps it was something from that crater, I have heard there are many odd things in it now that the sky has fallen to the earth there.”]

[“You might not know whats wrong with him Velkorn, but I think Luna does.”]

Bleu lifts her head looking at the tent flap as Rhede pushes his way inside. Velkorn's ears perk at his words, but she continues to work on closing the gashes in Bleu;s side.

[“What do you mean honey plot?”]

[“Just came from my meeting with her. It was short and to the point, if Jer wakes up and does something she doesn't like, shes going to kill him.”]

Velkorn pauses in her work looking up. Both she and Bleu stare at the tall earth pony as if expecting a joke, though Rhede's expression was proof enough that it was not.

[“Dammit.... I suppose I should have expected this too.....”]

[“What do you mean you expected this?”]

[“You didn't see her face Rhede. When that thing came up out of the pit. It stared right at her, as if she was the first thing it was gonna come after. She was absolutely terrified of it. Buck I couldn't even move in that things gaze and it wasn't even looking directly at me. It took one step towards us and she told it to stop with that Royal voice of hers. Thankfully it did, then it turned into Boss. I don't know if she said it expecting him to obey her or what, but I think that it listened worried her more than if it had not.”]

The three of them look over at the bed containing the still squirming unconscious unicorn.

[“Jer what the buck happened to you?”]

==========================================================

“Why did you not inform me you were going to do that to him?!”

“That's our business toots.”

“If he cannot be controlled it will be mine and every other ponies!”

“I would not worry about that Princess. He chose this route of his own free will, as did you. We aided him as his goals matched yours and by association, ours.”

“Plus watching him rip apart the city was a real treat.”

Luna snorts her mane flaring as she stares across the table before her. The tent had a silence spell cast over it so that the discussion would not be overheard.

“I do not recall asking you to do that to any one else.”

“His death was assured otherwise Princess. As was your failure without him. We moved to protect our own goals and yours. The same choice you were given, was given to him, and like you, he agreed.”

“Should I expect you to do this with everyone I am close too?”

“Geez, don't get so uppity after we helped your stupid ass.”

“You know that not to be the case. You and he were the only ones present at the ritual and therefore the only ones who could be granted this power by us.”

“Why was he like that? That is not the same power you gave to me.”

“Well no shit, cause yer not the same pony.”

“We follow rules apart from what you see Princess. My vulgar associate is correct however. The same power is not granted to the same ponies. There are exceptions to the rule of course. The Elements of harmony and those who bear them tend to follow the same patters of power gifted by us. This has been shown to be the case every time one of the bearers comes to us. Several such entities still linger in your mortal world.”

“Who? Who are they?”

“You know the draconequus. The other two you have also met in recent years if I am not mistaken. It was they who brought on the unicorns phobia of water.”

“Aqua......”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

“I hope you two are not very attached to them as they have moved up my list now.”

“WOOT, Chick fight I am all over that.”

“Silence you. There is another matter to attend to first Princess. By our agreement there are three more gods of the dragons that need be destroyed or imprisoned. Also your champion is waking. Best you go speak with him and find out what you wish to know from him. I would not question his word however, his loyalty is unwavering when it comes to you.”

“Ain't the only thing of his that's unwavering I’m sure hehehe Boyoyoyoying”

“In any event, the next few years shall indeed be the most interesting this world has seen in some time.”

Luna growls canceling the spell and flattening her ears to her head. Cryptic as always, even when they told you everything the impression that they hid their true intent was always there.

She looks down at the table, resting atop of the map were a cherry red tome, and a dusty gray colored grimoire. She sweeps both back into her saddlebag with her magic, slinging it over her back and trotting out the tent flap. Two guards flank her as she canters towards the medical tent. This was not something she was prepared for. Luna could not recall the last time she was terrified of something to this degree. And in this instance it was one of her own Generals... the first pony she had been close to aside from Tia since Hooper's death. Now due to her own actions and despite the books words some one she cared for might again die, but this time by her own hoof.

================================================

Bleu winces again as Velkorn stitches up another section of her hide. The zebra was down to the last large wound, once she finished she was going to go over and stun Jer'rahd again. The first strike was wearing off already and he had yet to stop thrashing violently for very long. He would calm at points before beginning again as if he was fighting. Bleu said he still suffered nightmares and she would often hear him wake up at night screaming every so often. He tended to get enough sleep to function, but the dragonling was unsure how how much real rest he received.

She could not keep stunning him forever though. In time the blows would cause permanent damage or no longer be effective at all, depending on how his body reacted to them. She was not even sure the effects would work a second time at all with how his body seemed to have changed. The fangs and the oddly healed skin were an odd thing for a spell to do. She suspected there was far more too it than that , but she could not figure out what that was. Velkorn's musings were cut off, as Princess Luna pushed aside the tent flap with a wing and strode inside.

Rhede was on his hooves already and if Velkorn had not popped Bleu in the nose to make sure she stayed put and didn't jump around she was sure the dragon would be up between Luna and Jer'rahd as well. Luna looked at the three of them and the doctor that was helping. Velkorn's attention shifted to the gray unicorn in the bed who had stopped struggling in his sleep the a few moments before the Princess had entered the tent and seemed to be sleeping soundly now. She made a mental note of that looking to the Princess as Luna sighs.

“Would you all please leave for a few moments.”

Rhede growls.

“Like buck I will. I'm not gonna step out just so you can kill him in private! I don't give a crap what you think is wrong. To do anything to Jer you're going to have to go through me. And even if you manage that you damn sure won't be in any shape to do anything to him afterward.”

Luna's eyes narrow as the red earth pony moves between her and Jer'rahd. She had no doubt he spoke the truth, Rhede was the only pony she had ever known to slap the shit out of Tia. He was far more resourceful than even her sister gave him credit for. However in this instance he was not acting like himself. He was not asking questions and trying to find a way past the situation, he was simply putting himself in what he thought was harms way rather than try to figure out the situation. He wore his emotions on his sleeve as it were. While she admired his loyalty she rather wished it was directed to her other than Jer'rahd.

“I have no plans on killing him Rhede, that all depends on what happens when he wakes. But in my defense you have no idea what he may be capable of now. If you save him if the situation warrants otherwise will you bear the weight of what he may do?”

“You are giving me a great deal of maybes and mays without any explanation, aside from claiming he was a monster of some sort. I want answers Luna.”

“Normally that would not be an issue Rhede, but for the moment you cannot even keep your emotions in check let alone anything I may tell you. You are in no shape to know what has happened with me and General Kaisur. Take time and calm down. If it makes you feel any better I shall not be doing anything but speaking to him when he wakes. If he is uncontrollable you will see for yourself why I say I may need to kill him. If he is still himself I should not have to. But for now I would ask you all to leave.”

Rhede looked about ready to keep going with his tirade, though that was stopped as Velkorn's tail belted him across the face. He turned glaring at the zebra who met his angry glare with her own. After a tense moment he snorts as if not deterred though a sudden bout of cursing behind him causes him to turn about to look at the pony now sitting up on the bed.

Jer'rhad doesn't acknowledge the group of them staring at him. Between curses he was starting to spit blood across the sheets before him.

“Jer'rahd!!”
“Boss!”
“Jer!”

Velkorn dashes over to him trying to check him out though the unicorn waves her away with a hoof turning his red and green eyes towards Luna.

“Princess?.....”

“Yes, General?”

“How the buck do you talk with out biting yourself with these damn things?”

His ears flatten as he winces again, his new fangs digging into the side of his mouth as he tried to speak.

======================================================

After a few moments of confusing, mixed yelling, and random requests for a drink from the pony in the bed Luna forced every one who was not Jer'rahd out of the tent. Velkorn had given him a once over and determined there was nothing wrong with him aside from what she already found, and the new holes in his tongue and cheeks. She gave him some concoction he claimed tasted like dishwater but was supposed to prevent his new bites from being infected.

Bleu and Rhede had not wanted to leave though Velkorn had helped to run them both out. The zebra offered a last look to the Princess that also seemed a warning, before she stepped out herself.

Luna sighs looking about at the sparsely furnished tent before taking a seat on the bed across from Jer'rahd and casting the silence spell once more.

“General....”

“So what exactly did I get myself into Princess?”

Luna smiles despite herself.

“Trouble, the same thing you always get into. Although in this instance it seems I am the one who brought it to you.”

“And how is that any different from any other day as your General?”

“Well for starters now you have the chance to be a bigger threat to Equestria than the dragons. I take you heard the voices again?”

“I did.”

“They offered you power, most likely to defeat those that stood in your way.”

“No.”

“No?”

“They offered me the power to protect the ones I cared about and make sure no one else suffered. “

“That is the same power with a different wording General.”

“It has a different meaning for me.”

“What did they give you?”

“As I said at the crater. A new spell. I know three now.”

“And that monster?”

“That is the third spell. Turning into that... well what ever it is.”

“ You controlled that thing?”

“No.”

Luna breaths in sharply. That was something she did not wish to hear, if he could not control what he had become he was just as much a danger to Equestria as he was to the dragons. Before she could respond however he continued.

“But it seems you can.”

“What?”

“Why did you yell out stop in the Royal Canterlot voice?”

“I am not sure really, at the time it just came to me that I should do something like that.”

“When I freed that thing I managed just enough control to give it a target, well several, the city and the diamond dog pup god. It did what it wanted between achieving that goal and after. I can assure you I will be having new nightmares of watching what it did. Nothing I did got it to change its course of action until you told it to stop. Once that happened it stopped everything including fighting me and existing that’s why it faded.”

Luna looks down at the pony on the bed as he yawns, seemingly disinterested in all of what happened though she has to smirk slightly as he curses, biting his lip again.

“You know why I ask General...”

“Of course. If this made me a danger or a wild card I expect you would attempt to end the threat that it could represent. The simplest way to do that would be to kill me.”

“Forgive me for sounding confused General, but you are rather nonchalant about the possible need for your own death.”

Jer'rahd sighs falling back into the bed his head thumping heavily into the pillow.

“How many years have you known me now Luna? Have you ever seen afraid or worried that I might be killed in anything I do? I venture out my door every morning expecting to die somehow or another. There is no fear of it for me there never has been since my grandmother died when I was a foal. I suppose that was due to my grandfather telling me when I died I would see her again. Having died once already I can attest that that is the truth. Besides it would be hypocritical of me to not expect you to do the same now that our situations are reversed.”

“I am afraid I do not follow your logic Jer'rahd.”

“I went up the mountain with you on trust at first, then when you told me what you were going to do, I went for another reason. Those books made Nocturne, possibly even Discord, if they had turned you into something like either of them I would have done my best to destroy you then and there. I would have tried to save Equestria any suffering you could have caused it. Since it was just the two of us up there every pony would have remembered you for who you were not what you had become and you would have still been thought of in a positive light by those you left behind.”

“And you would have been considered a traitor who committed regicide, never able to return to Equestria.”

“If I had to go through with that Luna, I never would have left where your grave site would have been.”

“That is almost romantic in a morbid sort of way.”

Jer'rahd turns a bit red about his muzzle stammering a little to find the words.

“That was not the intent Princess. I simply was trying to not make you feel as bad for considering ending my life.”

“It did not work Jer'rahd. I am not sure how to feel about that you were ready to kill me.”

“That should not matter. I did not need to. And I still am not thrilled I even considered it.”

Luna sighs this conversation was not telling her anything she wanted to hear. Jer'rahd seemed less than thrilled telling her as well. She was not sure if he was being truthful in that she had control over the beast or if it only seemed that way to him. Jer'rahd of course seemed more morose than usual, wither that was due to the nightmares, what had happened or their current discussion she did not know. She decided just to be blunt with her question in this, as it tended to work for Bleu.

“So am I going to be able to count on you as I have before General, or are you going to be a threat to Equestria now?”

“I do not see why not. I have no intention of casting that spell again if I can help it. I plan to continue this mission regardless. As for my being a threat, I am just as much a threat to Equestria as you are for listening to those books.”

“What?”

“Since we brought those books back you have been slowly changing how you speak about them. You went from looking through them and reading them to commenting about what they say and asking them. Remarks like that make me believe they talk back. And after your reaction to the voices I heard ,I figured that's who I was listening to.”

“You figured that out just by how I speak?”

“I have been paying a great deal closer attention to you since our trip on the mountain. I figured out something was up and put most of it together while planning escape from the jails I was put in. Not much else to do there.”

“Still, you are quite the clever pony for noticing all that ...”

“DON”T SAY THAT!”

Luna leaps back, her wings fanning out, her horn glowing, ready to blast the General at his sudden outburst. She had expected him to come for her or change or something. Leaping out of bed and looking around in a panic was not one of those things. His eyes were wide as if he expected the other horseshoe to drop at any second.

“Ummm General? What was that?”

“Every bucking time some one calls me a clever pony the parasprite shit hits the fan. “

“That is ridiculous General. How can a compliment paid to you bring about something bad?”

Her disbelief of his statement was cut short as Rhede bursts into the tent, as if expecting the yell to be Luna killing Jer'rahd. He was momentarily confused by the two of them staring at him. Luna was confused herself that he had heard anything outside of her spell before realizing when she went on the defensive she had dropped the silence spell to conserve power. Before any of them could say anything Starfall bursts though the tent flap knocking Rhede aside and saluting The Princess and her superior officer.

“Glad to see you awake General the parasprite shit has hit the fan. A large force that is apparently the main army of the dragons is moving across the plains towards us. They have already retaken the pass and have all but surrounded us already. They are still a bit off as moving a force of that size in order seems to be taxing them a bit, but we are already cut off from any retreat by land.”

“GODDESS DAMN IT!”

“I believe I will Jer'rahd.”

=============================================

Rhede picks himself up and dusts himself off from where he had been shoved aside. This was perhaps the worst series of events that he had ever gone through in his life. Everything was unraveling around him, the harder he tried hold on the faster things unraveled.

He abandoned Celestia to fully serve Luna, now she was talking about killing his best friend. To top that off her reason was that he was a monster now, like she was not considered such by far too many even before her new look. Now the dragons were coming for them full force.

He was used to change,sudden and unexpected. He was used to adapting to any situation he found himself in. Yet after his father had been killed and Celestia said her piece about what he was doing he could not focus on anything. He couldn't control his emotional state and he was angry at everything. He lost his focus at the drop of a hat. He knew he was a mess and in the middle of a war zone that was the last place you wanted to be trying to hold yourself together.

“Rhede get that well toned flank of yours out here now!”

Thank the stars for the existence of that dragonling. Nothing seemed to change how she was and despite how annoyed he got with her that was something he at least could latch onto for the moment.

“Stop making up names for me Bleu!”

“Then stop being so dead sexy!”

At least there was some comfort in the banter, he wanted to pull Jer aside and ask him questions, try to figure out what was going on. He steps out of the tent, listening to Jer already barking orders and planning, typical for him. This was oddly comforting to him, maybe one could find peace of mind in a battle, Jer seemed to do it all the time.

His gaze turns to Luna watching her as she watched Jer. She seemed some what annoyed at the commands he was giving out with her standing right there, but with the situation they were in, there was already little time, so perhaps she did not wish to argue.

“Starfall gather as many pegasi as you can, get some unicorns to cast that air spell for high altitude maneuvering and fly through the smoke over the crater. I want the entire team stationed behind the attackers in twenty. Once there hold position, stay hidden, and wait for the signal to attack, under stand?

“Yes Sir.”

“Good go. Velkorn there's going to be a influx of injuries, get the medics going and do your thing.”

Velkorn nods, darting off and vanishing into the crowd of ponies already running about.

“Bleu, Rhede. “

“Yeah boss?”
“What do you need Jer?”

“You two are on body guard duty, anything that's not one of us five gets close to Luna you kill it, got it? I don't care who the buck it looks like.”

“Right, what the buck are you going to be doing Jer?”

The the unicorn glances back, his eye flaring red as the armor of loyalty forms over him.

“Leading from the front and killing as many of the armored dragons as I can of course.”

Luna snorts in annoyance glaring down at him.

“I am not some flower to be sheltered General, I do not need body guards.”

“Who said a thing about sheltering you Princess. But you will need body guards.”

Jer'rahd grins his horn glowing. The Waning Moon cuts through the air from Luna's quarters on the other side of the camp spinning around and dodging the ponies in its way to hover next to its master as he looks up at the princess.

“This seems to be the full force of the dragons army. I bet that green bastard managed to get back and warn them what was going on. Of course they could have seen what happened in the crater too and sent Everything they had to keep us from doing that to Cindervale itself. According to Starfall barely a tenth of the force we are going against is in Star metal armor. The rest of the force are standard troops and mercs. We take down the star metal clad ones you can show the rest of these dragons why you took the name Nightmare Moon.”

“What do you mean General?”

“If the books did what they did to me, and that was just a side effect what they gave you, should have no trouble finishing off anything the dragons throw at us.”

Luna blinks surprised, then she smiles.

“Trying to prove you trust me again General?”

“I have yet to not trust you Princess. Disagree, argue and complain about you yes, but not distrust you.”

“So you are finally allowing me to cut lose then? How quaint.”

“It is not as if we need to save you as a secret weapon anymore is it. We take out this group and a couple of foals with sticks could take out Cindervale.”

“I wouldn't go that far boss A civilian dragon is still a dragon.”

“Alright... A couple of angry colts with sticks.... its a metaphor...”

“Stick to the rageing speeches Jer.”

“Bah.”

He turns galloping off ,shouting at the troops, puling them all into line with him. The sight of their commander on the battle field once again brought many out of the panic they were in at the size of the force that was coming to meet them. The pegasi slowly began vanishing from the air, collected by Starfall for what Jer'rahd had wanted.

“Come on you two, we should get moving as well I need to find a spot of high ground where I can see the battle.”

“Couple of tall rocks along the craters edge Princess. No one would be able to come up behind us either.”

“Thank you Bleu let us move. I need to get into position before the General hits the front lines with his force.”

===============================================

General Kaisur stood at the fore front of the camp looking across the short bit of open ground between the camp and the wall of the dragon army. He could not get a head count but it was quite clear they were outnumbered. There were close to three thousand on this side of the mountains a couple hundred were with Starfall at least sixty were with Velkorn. The rest were armed and armored and behind him as he looked over the field of battle. A small host of corpses already lay across the field felled with spells and arrows. The scouts and first responders to the appearance of the dragons main force. He smirked despite himself that several dragon and Ram corpses lay among the dead already.

The sacrifice of the scouts was not in vain as it allowed him the scant time he needed to get everything prepared. His gaze ran along the forces before him once more. Orcs, Rams, Dragons and a few scattered trolls here and there under the control of one of the other races. The air above them was filled with Griffons and flying dragons. None of that was what he was looking for, ahh there they were.

Dead center of the gathered forces there was a wall of shining metal perhaps five or six hundred troops clad in star metal, It was oddly more than just dragons, there were diamond dogs and rams as well. A few flying griffons wielded star metal weapons as well but none of them seemed to have any armor. In the center of that mass was a dragon whose size compared to that of Onyx Wing. That had to be the leader judging by how ornate the armor he wore was. That was Jer'rahds target.

He scrapes his armored hoof across the sandy ground focused directly on the leader, their eyes both hidden under the helms,but still meeting each others stares. The ponies around him fidget a bit waiting for the order.

Jer'rahd did not bother to give one simply bellowing with rage and charging towards his target. His troops do not even hesitate but follow along with the thunder of hooves accompanied by the war cries of an army of ponies that galloped towards the dragons.

=========================================================

Starfall winced as her team glided through the smoke and mist of the crater. The entire thing had a feeling of another world. Clouds should not be the bright blues , greens and pinks that these were. Her hooves felt itchy and just being in the smoke was enough to make her feel ill. Glancing back she saw her group was feeling the same. She was glad for the masks not wanting to have to breath in any of this stuff.

She back peddled fiercely as one of her advanced scouts came out of the cloud after finding a path.

“General you should have a look at this.”

The Shadowbolt turned barely waiting for her as he winged towards the ground. Starfall followed along with the rest of her unit, every pegasus staying close to not get lost in the mist and smoke. The pegasus in front of her hovers above the ground far enough that it was clear to everyone that it would be a bad idea to land. Even that gesture was not needed. Below them clinging to the ground was a thin layer of bright white almost glowing mist. It seemed alive and was twining among the rocks below them as if seeking prey.

It took Starfall a moment more to realize that those were not rocks. The entire area around them was littered with bones that seemed to have the meat freshly pulled off of them. Countless weapons and suits of armor were already starting to rust as the mist slid over them. Griffon bones, Ram's, Orc's, and dragons skeletons covered this field.

“Shit... Everyone get higher into the air don't go near the ground I want us out of this place double time.”

What the buck happened in here, there looked to be nearly a thousand corpses filling this section of the crater. Something this large would have been seen by her reports and the earlier patrols of this place. She was damned glad she never sent any earth ponies or unicorns in here. At least she knew that the rear would be protected as nothing was going to make it through this unless it flew and had a breathing mask and even that was questionable in her eyes at this point. They needed to get out of here.

======================================================

The ponies charge smashed into and through the front line of the dragons like a spear peirceing flesh. The tip of that spear was a flurry of motion, Onyx colored armor fashioned like a demon ripped apart or trampled everything in front of it the blade clenched in the figures jaws glistening with fresh blood.

A crimson glow illuminating from that helm sent a spike of fear though any foe that met his gaze though he gave no pause to any of them Cutting them down or simply knocking them aside for the others behind him to rip apart. The mass of the Equestrian army ripped through the ranks of the dragons like a plow tilling a field.

The momentum would not keep forever, and the spears shape shifted and lengthed as the draconic forces pressed back the much larger army circling to envelop the horde of ponies forcing them to fight from all sides. The griffons and dragons rained fire and crossbow bolts from above most of which was countered by the shields thrown up by the unicorns. Jer'rahd grins at that as well as the shock that the Star metal arrows were not piercing the shields the unicorns raised in every instance. He had set aside a new training program for the spell casters giving them all bits of the magic nullifying metal to practice how he did and now the results of that training were paying off. Not all the airborne forces attacked those on the ground. They kept looking about as if expecting the pegasi to come from any where.

Even so the initial rush put General Kaisur close to where he wanted to be , but sealed off any chance of escape for the Equestrian forces.

Jer'rahd bit harder into the grip of his blade. He hoped Luna would do something soon, they could not hold out forever against this many.

============================================

Luna skirted the edge of the crater hearing the cry and the thunder of hooves over the gathering of rocks in the area. She took wing flying up to the top of a large bolder that looked to have been thrown out of the crater by the first impact. Rhede and Bleu scrambled along after her trying to keep up. The both stop at the base of the rock looking up at her from the ground.

Luna nodded, looking across the level field that seemed to stretch all the way to the mountains they had crossed. This was the highest point she would be able to find to see the battle. It was not a complete picture from even this vantage point , but it would do.

She smiled softly her gaze turned skyward to her sisters sun as she waited for the dragonling and the earth pony to catch their breath.

“Alright Princess what is this all about?”

“Kinda curious about that myself Luna.”

“Jer'rahd trusts you both completely, do you know that?”

“Ya well, its boss.”

“I rather figured as much, considering he asked me to guard the mare who wanted to kill him.”

“You do realize that when I first gained the power I have now, he was prepared to kill me if I was a threat?”

“I don't know what to say to that Princess.”

“Don't say anything Rhede. Just know that Jer'rahd has a portion of the power I am about to show and he has no control over it.”

“Alright, you two are starting to freak me out with this talk of killing and shit. Luna you and sugar lips here need to get over this sorta crap. We are all supposed to be friends here and every one seems to want to kill some one else. I've seen what happened to boss and what he was I also saw how he acted once he woke up. Not a damn thing has changed aside from what he can do and what you look like.... and the fangs. I don't get the fangs. Is that some sort of kinky sexual fetish you two have that I haven't , heard of cause its bugging me?”

“Bleu... shut up a moment and let the Princess do her thing.”

“Thank you, Rhede.”

The battle before her was clearly not going in Equestria's favor. Surrounded after the initial charge and without the majority of the pegasi the ponies were losing the battle before it really started. This was not the best plan he had ever come up, in fact it was quite suicidal. She could see the reason for it though. With the brunt of the dragons facing inward towards the ponies no one would really see her until she started her spell.

She smirked briefly wondering why they never had played chess before. It did not matter though with what she was planning they would win with no issue. She was sure that was why he had Starfall sweep around, to kill any stragglers or those fleeing. Jer'rahd was far better at strategy than she gave him credit for.... if this was part of a plan and not just luck. It was not as if he knew what she would be doing before she did. She pushed that thought away, it was more likely he just expected her to do something big and dramatic.

“Rhede, Bleu I leave myself under your protection now. Please do not fail me.”
Bleu nods and Rhede simply snorts as if insulted that she would think he could fail.

Her horn starts to glow a dark blue, magic starts gathering around it slowly swirling and growing larger. Her mane lifts on its own blending into the swirl of magic as her tail does the same a vote of the starry sky forming over her and the rock she stood on lifting higher into the air with each moment.
The few clouds above the trio started to move taking on the same clockwise motion that the energy pouring off the princess was taking.

===========================================

Bleu looks up at the sky as a the clouds caught in the vortex take on a purplish tint. Her gaze shifts back to the battle noting a squad of griffons start winging their way towards them.

“Looks like some one noticed already sexy hooves, you ready?” Rhede? Rhede?! Where the heck did you go? Shieeeet!”

Bleu looks back up at the sky watching the griffons dip low flying close to the ground between the rocks dotting the area as they got closer. They clearly did not want to get near the unknown spell and having seen Bleu they were flying among the rocks to try and negate her use of her breath weapon.

“Buck me we get the clever ones, Damnit Rhede.”

Bleu growls not seeing the crimson pony any where. She glances at the Princess before moving in front of her. She swore again knowing that all the work Velkorn had put into her stitches was going to be broken again when she changed size here. The griffons flew closer eyes on the dragon and the Princess as they unslung their star metal weapons.

Bleu readied herself prepping a breath of lightning, nearly choking on it as the lead griffons head suddenly separated from its body, tumbling through the air as the body crashed to the ground and bounced across the rocky soil.

The others in the formation banked hard, though two lost wings in the same manner the lead lost its head. A trio of daggers flew from the shadows of one rock impacting a griffon that had managed to get away unscathed the bird squawked once before crashing into a bolder, its limp body falling to the ground.

Rhede flings back the hood on his cloak, his blacked foreleg coming down and crushing a wounded griffon's head as it struggled to get up. Another series of daggers ended the life of the other wingless bird with a flick of the earth pony's tail.

He glances at the group that had flown above the wire he had strung between a few rocks at his neck level. He tapped the wire lightly with a smirk, blood dripping from the steel length. He barely had enough time to put two of these wires up after spotting the griffons headed their way. If he had time to put up a few more there might not have been any of the birds left. He was glad to see he had not lost the knack for predicting what creatures might do.

“Bleu you stay the size you are and just try to fry any that get close, or that I can't reach. I'll do the grunt work this time.”

“Well that’s awfully nice of you, is it my birthday? Or are you simply taking your Mr. Grumpy pants attitude out on the poor, innocent, little, heavily armed, birdies?”

“A bit of column B though mostly column C.”

“Wait, whats column C?

“I don't want to hear it from Velkorn if you pop those stitches again.”

“Ahh yes, that choice, That's a good choice." Alright Snookums, so long as you can handle it.”

“Stop making up pet names already!”

Luna reacted to none of this. Her eyes glowed a dark blue that the clouds swirling above them rapidly matched. The sun was still high in the sky. The dragons clearly knew she was leading this force and had thought to attack when she was weakest. This might have been true in the past , but no longer, she simply preferred the night. This spell infact needed the light of the sun to work properly any way.

The clouds stretched thin turning to a mist that spread out to cover the battlefield tinting the sunlight into shades of blue and purple. The spell had no words it needed little more than the manipulation of the magic that coursed through her. The cost would come at how much magic she was using. Luna knew that would likely mean she would not be ready in time to destroy Cindervale itself, but so long as there was enough of her army left to destroy it, she would not need to. This spell should be enough to ensure that plenty of ponies remained to fight.

===========================================================

Metal met metal. Steel cleaved flesh and bone. The sands and rocks of the plains drank deep of the crimson liquid of life as it left the bodies of its former owner. Jer'rahd wore the warm liquid as a badge , his black armor dripped with it, as if he collected the splatters like trophies.

Weapons bounced off his armor, or were dodged ,or parried as he saw fit. He presses on, ripping through the thick of the dragons forces. He knew the dragons would circle to close off any retreat, and he knew the troops under his command knew that too. It was a tactic taught in basic. It was a testament to their loyalty and trust in Luna and him that they would still follow willingly. They knew there was a plan in place and that the Demon of Dullahan would not rush into a no win situation without a plan of some kind.

They were correct this was not a no win so long as the Princess's spell worked. Even if Luna did not come through he had a target that was going to die before him. The large armored dragon in the armies center. A white judging by the wings emerging from its back.

The beast remained at the back of the group shouting things in draconic. Clearly the leader though he could smell something odd even over all this blood and death around him. The creature inside him stirred at the scent, but remained sealed. The dragon was another god, one that was going to die by his blade even if that was a final act.

The bright sun falling on the battlefield darkened as if a cloud was passing over it. Jer'rahd paid it no mind until the the light brightened again casting a purple glow over the land. The battle lulled momentarily as both sides briefly tried to figure out the source.

. Jer'rahd did not need to find out, he kept up the charge, those flanking him, and the ones flanking them did the same, the spear head barely pausing at the change of lighting.

Even this new surge only made it so far until it struck the wall formed by the armored dragons. They had made it. The white dragon was insight now, looking at the battle that had gotten so close to him with a wide fanged grin.

His troops gathered tighter, watching each others backs. There were a scant few pegasi, as Starfall took most of them with her,The unicorns moved to the middle of the group, firing off spells blasting any that were unarmored. The earth ponies formed a wall around them, trusting the unicorns to keep fliers off of them as they fought the forces on the ground. Countless drills and training were finally being put to use.

The purple haze over the land seemed to stretch the the shadows cast by the partially obscured sun making everything seem unreal. The dragons did not even notice not seeing any effect aside from a light show they pressed their advantage barely being held at bay by the ring of earth ponies.

The Waning Moon cut through a ram's horn cleaving the top of its skull, sending the mercenary to the ground where it lay twitching, the remains of its brain and eyes slipping from its open skull dangling from the spine. Jer'rahd blinks pausing in his next attack noticing the ram's shadow remained as if it was still standing. It seemed to be looking up at him however a pair of softly glowing white points of light where its eyes should be regarded the one who had killed its former owner. He met the shadows gaze briefly and grinned.

“Seems the Princess has come through I take. If you want orders, kill anything that's not a pony.”

He did not bother to see if the shadow responded, as a pair of dragons surged forward into the opening left by the ram, knocking the corpse aside and attempting to impale Jer'rahd with spears.

He shifts his stance, letting one spear glance off his armored shoulder, his blade cutting the haft of it and forcing the red dragon wielder back to avoid a second swing. The purple wyrm that held the other spear, swung it like a club trying to knock Jer'rahd aside. His weapon met only to meet a green glowing shield, shattering against it. Jer'rahd drops the shield and lunges at the purple dragon his blade and hooves ripping through the beasts scales as it tumbles away from him. He did not press the attack, instead he whirled to face the red drake while the purple struggled up off the ground.

The red dragon was not pressing his attack on the unicorn,instead it was flailing around, clawing at itself as if trying to attack something that was on it. The creatures forearm suddenly jerks back at an odd angle, bringing a roar of pain and a gout of fire from the beast. The creatures leg suddenly twists side ways at an angle that pierced the skin and scale of the creature with its own broken leg bone.

The creature bellows again before its head was suddenly yanked around so it could see its own tail directly. The red dragon collapsed and with a last few twitches lay still. Jer'rahd turns back to the purple dragon, watching as the same thing seemed to be taking hold of it, with the same results

He ignores the flailing beast looking over to the first corpse seeing the shadow of the first dragon leave its corpse and glide across the blue tinted ground towards the mass of the opposing army. His gaze swept the enemy forces, watching as dozens of the enemy not wearing star metal armor fell the same way as these two did, the dead's shadows leaving their bodies to join the hunt for new victims. The armored draconic forces seemed panicked, yet unaffected. Glancing up the ones flying also seemed not to have any worries either.

Jer'rahd grins wide. Forcing an armored diamond dog in front of him to take several steps back at the sudden change in the ponies expression.

“THE PRINCESS HAS GIVEN US HER AID. DO NOT WASTE THIS BOON, FOCUS ON THE AIRBORNE AND ARMORED DRAGONS. FOR EQUESTRIA!”

His cry was met with a roaring cheer from the Equestrian forces. He gallops forward head lower goring the stunned diamond dog with his horn as he charges into the thick of the Panicked dragons using the unfortunate dog as a meat shield as he rushes through the ranks before him.

He tosses his head flinging the body over his back and off his horn, his teeth clench tighter around his blades grip as he lashed out at anything near him that wore the star metal. The armored ones were immune to the shadows attacks , but that did not mean that they felt very secure watching their companions be ripped apart around them.

Many started to break and run before the new surge of the Equestrian army. This was what Jer'rahd had been waiting for, and why he sent Starfall ahead.

He formed a shield as far into the air over the battlefield as he could the glowing green shape joined by two others making a crude arrow pointing down. It was not much of a signal, but it was the one he always used and Starfall should easily recognize.

None of these dragons or mercenaries could be allowed to escape. Nothing else would be allowed to hinder the attack on Cindervale, and end of this war.

He leaped aside suddenly catching a sign of movement from the corner of his eye, a massive club spiked with jagged shards of Star metal impacted the ground where he had stood. Cursing himself for getting distracted his gaze ran up to the wielder of the club. The large white dragon he had been charging towards lifts himself up from under a pile of bodies where he had lay hidden in ambush. The growl from the beasts fanged maw showed his disapproval that his trap failed.

The dragon Lashes out again whipping the club across the ground towards the Equestrian General, barely slowing as it smashed into and through a series of glowing green shields. Jer'rahd winced as the weapon stopped the spikes still penetrating his last shield. His head was pounding already and they had not gone past the opening shot.

The white dragon did not let up flinging the bodies fully off of him and rising up to his back legs towering over the pony and lifting his club for another strike. Several of the Ponies who had been charging with him moved to flank the beast waiting for the opportunity to attack.

The dragon barely paid them any attention focusing solely on Jer'rahd. He brings the club up and then down in a two clawed over head smash that the unicorn easily dodges. The impact however shook the ground around the dragon nearly knocking him off his hooves. Several of the other guards were knocked on their flanks however. Thankfully they had time to recover as the beasts attention was solely fixated on the armored unicorn before him.

The beast exhales suddenly and Jer'rahd barely manages to lift his shield in time. Frost and ice began forming around the edges of the his shield forcing him to widen it. The ground and bodies behind him take the full brunt and turn brittle as they froze solid some of them crumbling to dust almost instantly.

Several of his own troops screamed out as they were hit, one nearly made it out of the way in time though his left fore hoof was hit. The earth pony screams out as he falls back his leg freezing solid and shattering the moment it touches the ground as he collapses. Some of the others were not even that lucky, as sections of their face or torso sloughed off in sheets of bloody ice.

The attack stopped and he dropped the shield glaring up at the dragon as the sheet of ice that collected on his shield collapsed to the ground.

“Oh good. I was looking to add a notch on my belt for another dead god.”

The dragon only responded with a roar.

===========================================================

A bolt of lightning fried another griffon, the creature dropping from the sky to land with a sickening crunch on the rocks below. Rhede and Bleu were on top of the rock with the Princess of the night. Rhede was covered in claw marks and blood, some of it was actually his. He had been bitching the whole time about running out of daggers and had swiped one of the dead birds crossbows and had been using that, with impressive, if rather slow effect. Several more griffons had joined the first. Some of these were armored with star metal, little more than barding and shields but it was enough to make them harder to kill.

“Why don't they make these things easier for ponies to use? You need fingers or some shit to do this.”

“So any way silky fur, where were we in the conversation?”

“Stop calling me things. Though I believe we were discussing Jer's attraction to the catatonic Princess behind us.”

Another bolt of lightning barely misses a griffon trying to get a shot in at the princess. Its shot going wide and flying off into the distance. A shot from Rhede finishes what Bleu started.

“Well, from what I can tell she has boss hooked completely, more than just the commander and officer sort of thing. I doubt he would even look at another mare now.”

“Yeah I suppose he is never gonna give her up.”

“”He's said he's never gonna let her down.”

“So long as he doesn’t follow your example and is never gonna run around and desert her, I think this is a good thing for boss.”

“Hey I don't do that. Any mare I am with knows its not anything serious. I don't desert any one.”

Rhede flings a pair of his last few daggers at a griffon trying to sneak up behind them as he reloads the crossbow forcing it to seek cover again.

“Yeah Pelt but how many of them think they can change you to love just them?”

“So far?”

“Sure, why not.”

The griffon that dove for cover chose the wrong moment to peek out of it and took a blast of lightning to the beak.

“Just one, and she's one I never did anything with. Of course I am not even sure of how she feels about me any more.”

“Yes,well you trying to be as big an ass to her as you can does tend to change how she viewed you.”

“And how would you know that ?”

Another bolt shot out from the crossbow though the griffon it was fired at managed to turn enough so it only took the bolt in the leg before seeking cover again.

“I have a pair of eyes and also spent a couple of weeks with that zebra. She tries to hide it but shes still got a thing for you. “

“Bleu you know why I won't”

“Really, so you force her away so she will find some one else, and perhaps fail that, never to be happy. When you could just accept her and make her happy with the time that you think you have left due to what the test prophesied. Shes gonna be miserable when you die any way Pelt. Whether you manage to force her away or not. All you are doing is prolonging both of your chances at happiness and shortening what time you two might have.”

Rhede looks over at the dragonling as she fires off another blast of her breath weapon before lifting the body of a griffon she had killed up to take a crossbow bolt that was aimed for Luna.

“Where do you get this stuff?”

“Maw Pelt and I are pen pals.”

“Oh for bucks sake...”

=========================================

The pegasi had managed to find a safe hidden spot far beyond the battle. A small corpse of trees was enough to hide Starfall's group and a stream running through the middle of it gave the pegasus the chance to take turns on watch and trying to clean the residue from flying through the crater from their bodies and equipment. Starfall had quickly cleaned up, hoping to be a bit more thorough later , but this would do for now. Her gaze was locked on the odd coloration of clouds and mist over the conflict.

That was not the signal she was waiting for, that was likely the work of Princess Luna. Her eyes narrow as she waited for anything planning to move soon if she did not see anything. She sighed with relief seeing the green arrow he formed in the air

She raised her hoof to signal her troops to move, It was then she saw the first of the dragon forces that had fled the battle headed their way. She smirks realizing why he sent her team this far out.

“Take out the ones running, let nothing make its way back to Cindervale to warn them. Nothing that attacks us this day is to escape alive. GO!”

The pegasus forces took to the air busting out of the treeline and meeting the fleeing dragons ripping them apart before moving forward to flank the dragon forces still fighting, leaving them no avenue of escape.

Starfall flew over the battlefield scanning the area looking for Jer'rahd and spotting the green of his shield as he blocked a blow from a massive armored white dragon. She sighs, trust that damn pony to find the biggest problem he could and meet it head on. She almost smirked watching the time he had even hitting the large dragon. He looked like he could use a bit of help with this fight, she needed to clear the air any way.

She signaled a group of Shadowbolts the six other pegasi joining her as she spiraled up into the air. They had practiced this maneuver a few times and it was time to put it to the test. The Shadowbolts couldn't preform the rain boom on their own , but they could follow her and make the effect bigger, and the ones with her now could do something else too.

The group spirals up past the clouds into the unfiltered sunshine. Starfall smirks loving this initial rush as she folds her wings along her back turning to fall back towards the ground The others doing the same. They fell out of the pure sunlight the wind whipping at their bodies as they burst back through the cloud layer the battle field spread out below them. Her vision starts to blur a bit even with her goggles as she pushes her fore hooves out in front of her self her whips whipping back driving her harder towards the ground. Around her hooves the mist flowed the very air starting to break and cone around her outstretched forelegs. The Shadowbolts moved in tighter behind her riding the slipstream she was creating.

=====================================

A high pitched whine caught Jer'rahd's attention, he grins recognizance the sound. Starfall had entered the battle field. He glances back as the screaming of the pony who had lost a leg stops and was briefly surprised to see nothing there, though a glimpse of a stripped tail told him why. Starfall was not the only one to have made their way here.

Unfortunately the white dragon seemed to have noticed as well. The very sky shook as the sonic rain boom hit knocking most of the fliers out of the air around her the purple mist funneled along with her trailing behind the pegasus and the hole she punched through the clouds. Several dark shapes broke off Once the rain boom hit taking a portion of the colors streaming off of Starfall with themselves as they banked off looking to impact other areas of the battle field with his friends signature move. It seems she had been training her team rather hard as well.

Jer'rahd hoped this would not disrupt the spell Luna was casting, but the damage from that spell seemed already done for the most part. The dragon winced at the boom, turning it's head up to look at the streak of light heading straight towards him. The beast reacted faster than Jer'rahd had thought possible swinging the massive club up suddenly the thick end of it connecting solidly with the descending pegasus the resulting explosion shattered the dragons club, but sent Starfall tumbling through the air across the battlefield. Shards of the club piercing her armored form as the rain boom had been stopped dead. The impacts of the other rain nukes striking the ground and flinging smoke and debris into the air from where they hit drown out the roar of pain and rage from the dragon, as the explosion of its club had damaged it as well, rendering its fore claws into little more than meaty chunks of flesh and bone.

The dragons pain was not even registered as he watched Starfall's limp form crash to the ground and vanish amid the fighting. The glow of his eyes faded to nothing as he stares after the pegasus in shock. The roar of pain from the dragon brought him back to his senses, his left eye flared up, burning crimson as bright as Celestia's sun. The Waning Moon was gripped by his magic as he roared out rushing the dragon.

The beast responded in kind, turning its breath weapon on the charging pony, exhaling a much wider cone of ice. The frozen cone of its breath weapon covered the area between the two blowing over the ground and the charging pony. The blast him him full force before he could raise his shield. Jer'rahd winces as the armor of loyalty grows cold the chill seeping into his flesh.

The unicorn stallion winces as the biting cold brushed his unprotected face, he expected to feel a great deal of pain, though aside from the freezing cold he felt nothing out of the ordinary . He opened one eye, shards of frost flaking off his lashes as she looked about seeing nothing but vague shapes and ice blocking his vision. The grip of the Waning Moon was cold against his tongue, but there was no pain. He squirms, realizing he was trapped, his armor frozen around him. The dragon bellowed loudly before him and Jer'rahd barely made out that it turned to deal with something behind it. The Dragon thought he was dead?

Jer'rahd growls jerking against his armor ,the steel of it shrieking in protest. He flexes jerking hard against his tomb muscles strains his skin feeling the sting of the biting cold steel encasing him. The ice crackles as it starts to splinter the armor whining in protest as the brittle metal starts to give and the ice around him begins to split. A last hard shift against it and the ice shatters the armor of loyalty splitting open as he bursts free of its confines, bits of metal and ice still wrapped about him a moment before it fades back into his necklace. He winces the frozen cold of the of his armor seemingly collected in the Element of Loyalty necklace that hung around his neck. He ignores the pain rushing towards the back of the dragon, bits of ice and broken metal falling off of him. His hooves impact the dragons tail as the Waning Moon cuts through the thick star metal armor on the dragons back digging deep into the flesh underneath.

The dragon roars, slinging around as Jer'rahd grips the blade tighter in his teeth. He lashes out with his rear hooves bucking them hard into the joint where the dragons wing juts from its armor, a satisfying crunch and the feeling of bone shattering under his hooves was only made better by the beasts scream.
The white wyrm thrashes, trying to dislodge him and only succeeds in digging the blade deeper in its back.

The ponies that had drawn the beasts attention away from the frozen General take advantage of the dragons attempt to remove the weapon from its back and rush forward. Their spears and blades biting into the exposed portions of the dragons flesh, stabbing and slicing though the rents and tears caused by the waning moon and the explosion of its own weapon.

Several of the ponies attacking gather up the enemies weapons, darting around the dragon stabbing at it with the star metal blades, cutting gashes deeper into the beast's hide. Jer'rahd kicks off the dragon yanking the Waning Moon out of the beast and leaving four hoof prints in the back of the bloodied armor.

He lands hard on the frozen corpse of a dead dragon, smashing through the crystalline body and hitting the ground with a thud and a sound like shattering glass as the frozen corpse disintegrates around him. He winces as the ice shards cut across his skin before picking up his blade again.

He glances around a moment his eyes narrowing as his green eye flares up along with his horn , nearly matching the brightness of his red. His magic lifts shards of shattered star metal armor and weapons from the fallen around him, the green glow encompassing all of them. He grits his teeth fighting the massive headache this was giving in in a effort to keep control of the telekinesis spell. He screams out with pain and rage the Guards who had been fighting the beast hauling flank to get out of their commanders way as the lifted weapons are flung forward at the white dragon.

The blades and shards of metal clang off the creatures armor knocking chunks out of it and ripping apart the exposed scales on its arms and neck. Jer'rahd's eyes glow brighter as he pours more magic into his attack, his vision blurring, but still seeing Starfall. Bodies,rocks, bits of earth and shards of ice join the rush of items thrown at the dragon, ripping through the short distance between the two slamming into, and through it. Flesh, scale, bone and blood are torn from the beast in great chunks and carried along with the torrent Jer'rahd was flinging at it. The dragon flailed its flesh being torn from its body like foals pulling apart a giant marshmallow.

The objects still floating and waiting to be flung suddenly fell as the unicorn staggered, his hooves spreading out as he fought for balance panting heavily. He lifts his head looking up at the remains of the white dragon. It was hard to tell what the creature had once been, it seemed little more than a pile of bloody chum. A path was cleared behind it across the ground littered with random bits of metal and gore . Bodies and shards of metal littered the red soaked path that cut across the field.

The Guards that had been helping him fight the dragon looked at the General wide eyed, clearly terrified of what they had witnessed. Jer'rahd smirks slightly.

“Useless trick huh Starfall?”

One of the guards trotted up ignoring the worried glances the others gave him for approaching.

“Goddess Damn sir, are you alright General?”

He blinks, glancing up at the gray coated unicorn covered in gore stood before him. The corporal did not salute as was standard protocol in a hostile area, but he seemed to have to put for the the effort not too.

“I have never seen anything like that. I can't even pick up a small piece of that stuff, and you flung everything on the battle field almost.”

“What is your name solider?”

“Hooves sir, Corporal Hooves.”

“You find this interesting?”

“Well not the battle itself sir, although that seems pretty much won now. The shadow things finished off most of them and what they didn't, either we got, or the pegasi did.”

Jer'rahd fought to catch his breath, his head hurting too much at the moment to process things quickly.

“I am surprised you are not a little more fearful of me after the shadows and this.”

“Not at all sir. After all, the shadow things helped us, and you're on our side. What exactly is there to be afraid of?”

Jer'rahd blinks again looking at the blond unicorn and shakes his head a bit chuckling.

“Do you have any idea where General Starfall landed?”

“Yes sir, she sent us over here to help you after she hit the ground. That has got to be the most foul mouthed mare I have ever heard. Errr, no offense sir.”

“None taken. Is she alright?”

“Couldn't say Sir. I'm not a medic, just a runner for messages mostly. Delivered mail prewar. But that zebra was there before we ran off so I figure if any pony can help her its that one.”

Jer'rahd lets out a sigh of relief he did not know he was holding. He smirks his gaze shifting across the battle field again noting the dark blue pillar of light on the far side of the battle field.

“Hooves grab any troops you can and head over towards that spell being cast over there, stay on the outer edge of the rock and don't get close to the source. Keep from getting any where near it if you can. There are still some stragglers about that may go for it. Make sure any pony that goes with you stays out of the kill zone of those rocks or they'll be taken down too.”

“Sir, how will I know what the kill zone is?”

“Look for the ring of bodies and stay outside that. General Pelt and Scale are there if they tell you to do something you do it.”

“Yes sir.”

“Now go, I have to find my sword.”

=============================================

Rhede was exhausted, and Bleu was not looking much better. Quite a few griffons had gathered in the air circling them. Bleu was kept on the defensive with her griffon meat shield. The bird corpse was already studded with crossbow bolts from the flying griffons. The birds were high enough in the air that Rhede's stolen crossbow could not reach them, but they could easily shoot down at the trio on the rock.

Bleu's breath weapon was the only thing that could still reach them, but the dragon was straining every time she fired it now. Rhede had switched to one of the griffons shields to try and block the shocks fired at them. Luna was still in the trance like state of her spell and had yet to move in at least an hour. The din of the battle still echoed, but the tide had turned quite a while ago for some reason, Rhede figured Luna's spell was working.

He had seen Starfall make her usually grand entrance only to impact something near the ground and be sent flying across the battlefield. He winced watching her tumble though the air, losing sight of her as she crashed into the milling troops. The griffons on the ground had evidently been waiting for her to make her arrival as they took to the air soon after the rain boom had passed. A few more had joined them in the circling and at least fifteen were constantly firing or reloading above them now as they glided around them in the air like vultures. Rhede had put on the armor of Generosity and blocked quite a few bolts, but when one punched through the armor and dug into his side he realized they had started using Star metal tipped bolts. He lets the armor fade away having more maneuverability with out it before he yanks out the bolt, glad the things were not barbed.

There was a lull in the firing giving them both a chance to catch their breath, although all of the griffons were loading their crossbows at once as if to fire at the same time.

“Why the buck do we have to face the smart ones?”

“Dunno, but this shields shot Rhede. I'm gonna get bigger and try to cover Luna with myself.”

“Fifteen bolts in you when your already bucked up Bleu, that's not a good chance for survival.”

“ Luna has a better chance of winning this war than I do. Higher priority and all.”

“Like hell I am gonna let you do that.”

“Oh good I hope you have a better plan then cause I'm fresh out.”

“Buck.......”

A deafening roar sounded suddenly from the rocks closest to the battlefield, accompanied by a high pitched whistling . A sudden squawk of panic drew the pairs attention back up to the griffons in time to see one of the birds explode in a puff of feathers and multicolored lights.
The feathers drifted down as the flash fried carcass fell to the ground with a meaty splat. Looking back over at the rocks, the source of the noise became clear as a group of ponies pulling a pair of the cart mounted magic cannons galloped up skidding to a stop just out side the ring of bodies, another shot being fired by a gray unicorn on the cart.

“CAVALRY'S ARRIVED SIRS!”

Rhede and Bleu blink.

“Not to be ungrateful, but I suggest you stop there ummm... Corporal?”

“Hooves Sir, and we know General Kaisur sent us over, sorry it took so long, but we had to stop for these babies. Always wanted to fire one.”

“Well Jer's still alive thank the stars for that at least. What are you waiting for then Corporal? FIRE AT WILL!”

“ Will? I don't know any Will sir. I used to know a Jill, but she lives in Trotsville. I don't think this cannon will reach that far.”

“JUST FIRE!!!”

Corporal Hooves jumps a bit from Bleu's shout, both cannons roaring again the shots streaming up at the griffons. The unicorns firing them reloading quickly while the guards pulling the carts gather up shields to protect the cannoneers. The griffons scatter as the blasts explode near them sending shards of magic to either bounce off their armor or rip a few feathers free. Another one falls, crashing to the ground its wings shredded, the remaining flock take off, flying away from the range of the weapons. As Rhede watches they barely made it back over the battlefield before a group of pegasi intercept them and a airborne dogfight begins. The cannon battered griffons are quickly dispatched their corpses joining the growing piles on the ground.

Rhede sighs as the ponies station themselves at the perimeter around them, still following Jer's orders to stay outside the kill zone as they called it. Seems Jer was quite serious when he told the pair of them to kill any one who came near the Princess. Rhede wondered how much longer Luna was going to be casting this spell, almost as the thought crossed his mind the clouds above them ceased the swirling motion and the power pouring off of her slowed to a trickle before vanishing completely. Her mane and tail fell limp, the points of light that had been dotting them all but gone. She staggers losing her balance and Bleu was quick to catch her before she fell. Luna shivers a little her emerald eyes half closed.

“ Thank you Bleu. That was a bit more complex than I initially thought. Has everything gone well?”

“Near as I can tell Princess the enemy is all but destroyed there's a few pockets of resistance left on the field, but no one is taking prisoners.”

“Good any word from the others?”

“Jer sent some ponies to watch out backs, I took an arrow... it hurt ... but I got over it..... Starfall is the only one that I am really worried about at the moment she took a rather nasty hit and I have not heard anything else.”

“Velky probably got her, that was too big of a display to not be noticed.”

“Well shall we go find out?”

“Can you walk?”

“ Whats the matter Pelt unwilling to help a mare if I can't?”

“I took an arrow for you, you know.”

“So long as it was not to the knee or anything vital you must be fine to be bitching about it Pelt.”

Rhede snorts as Bleu helps the Princess down off the rock moving along beside her. Luna stumbles a bit pausing often enough that the pace would be slow and grueling. Bleu looks a little concerned at the weakness as Rhede sighs.

“There’s an easier way you know. CORPORAL GET THE TEAM BACK ON ONE OF THOSE CARTS AND BRING IT OVER HERE.”

“YES SIR”

Rhede slides off the rock, landing a bit harder than he liked, jarring the wound in his side He sucks in air sharply taking a second to regain his composure before trotting over to the Princess as the cart with the magic cannon rolls towards them.

“No sense in ruining the powerful and invincible image you built up with this Nightmare moon nonsense. This will suffice and all you need to do is sit there and look pretty. Should be easy enough for you.”

“A snide comment combined with a flirt? I gather you are feeling better then Pelt?”

“I just watched you summon an army of shadows that ripped apart the largest force of the dragons we have ever faced. And Jer is supposed to be equivalent to that? Suffice to say I know well enough to the reason for why you were ready to kill him. I do apologize for doubting you there, after all we have been through I should have trusted you more than this by now.”

Luna looks surprised and even Bleu seems a bit impressed by the comments as she helps the Princess into the cart before climbing up herself and getting distracted by the blonde maned Corporal still at the mage cannon.

“Thank you Rhede. But don't stop questioning orders I give that you do not agree with. Depending on the situation you may be able to point something out I overlook. You are supposed to be the intelligence officer after all you may have more information than I do.”

“Where too Princess?”

Luna and Rhede look at the Corporal who had pulled off his helm and was half leaning on the mage cannon. Bleu continued to stare at the unicorn and Rhede and Luna were a little unnerved as well.

“Errrr head towards the medical tent Corporal I would like to see if there is any word on General Silvertail.”

“At once Princess.”

The unicorn turns leaning over the edge of the cart to pass the orders to the team pulling it. Rhede leans a little closer to Luna muttering under his breath.

“Was he looking at me, or was he looking at you?”

Bleu slides over putting in her two bits worth.

“I thought he was looking at me.”

==================================================================

Velkorn was busy. The battle was resulting in far more injuries than she was comfortable dealing with, and the entire medical team was running around on full alert. There was not a single pony who had not received some would or another, and she had one medic telling the ones with the superficial injuries how to treat themselves.

There were several categories of injuries and she shuddered to think that they were using the barbaric military triage where the least wounded were helped first so they could get back into the battle. But that was the best way to save as many as possible. She knew that once this was over Luna and Jer'rahd would want to press on to Cindervale and finish this war for good.

She could not argue with that logic, but she did not like seeing any pony like this. She gathered some of the moderately wounded, mostly unicorns, that could still function. The ponies were clearly not going to make it back to the battle, but she set them to rip apart tent canvas and any other clothing that could be used in makeshift bandages for the others. They were down to using sticks and tent pegs as splints already. Velkorn had barely spent any time in the tents, rushing out along with several others to retrieve the wounded the moment the dragons line started to break.

Velkorn shivered at the results of Luna's spell, she watched the shadows rip apart a diamond dog and fling its head, to go rolling across the battlefield. The zebra froze at one point feeling several of them take notice of her, watching expectantly as if trying to figure out whether she counted as a pony or a target. She did her best to ignore them grabbing a wounded pony and flinging him over her back galloping to the edge of the battle field and leaving him with a stretcher crew. That one would be fine he was breathing but his helm was crumpled as if he took a blow to the head that just knocked him out.

Others were not so lucky. Burns seemed to be the predominate injury, both fire and acid from the dragons breath weapons. There were a few extreme frost bite cases and one pony's leg had shattered as all of it had turned to ice. It was at that point she saw Jer'rahd. She briefly considered trying to help him , but he seemed to be dealing the oversized white dragon rather well. She hoisted the injured pony dashing back through the battlefield. There were a few cries for help from the dragon forces who were injured , but she steeled herself to try and ignore them. Thankfully most of those pleas were silenced rather quickly, either the shadows or one of the Equestrian troops. They were not planning on taking any survivors.

She had just dropped off the injured pony, stopping to look at the flash frozen wound as it slowly started to melt when she heard the whine of Starfall's sonic rain boom. Her ears perked as she lifted her gaze skyward watching the pegasus and her team drop down towards the ground. Starfall her self few straight down towards what she could barely make out as the white dragon that Jer had been fighting.

She watched the beast bring his weapon up and had to shield her eyes from the impact of the two. As her vision clears, her amber eyes follow the flight of the struck pegasus watching as Starfall crashed and bounced once in the middle of the field. Velkorn was galloping towards her friend before the pegasus had landed a second time from the bounce.

Charging among the embattled soldiers she dodged more than a few attacks directed her way and tried not to get hung up or involved in any fight. She was focused soly on getting to where Starfall had landed. She burst through a line of troops rushing towards a armored griffon with a broken wing and spotted Starfall and the gouge she had kicked up in the earth from her impact.

The Pegasus' armor of Honesty was in shreds, chunks of metal were embedded in her and it was clear that one if not both of her wings were broken and both her forelegs had suffered the same fate. A small group of ponies had gathered around her fending off the few Diamond Dogs and Rams that were still alive this far across the battle field.

Velkorn dashed between them skidding to a stop and looking over the pegasus a bit closer. The armor was going to have to come off ,she doubted she would be able to work on her let alone carry the smaller pegasus with it still on.

“Starfall you have to remove your armor for your own sake, can you even hear me , are you awake?”

There was nothing for a moment and the pegasus breathing suddenly stopped as well. Velkorn's eyes widened before a stream of expletives came out of the wounded pegasus mouth that would have made Jer'rahd and Bleu both blush. Velkorn's ears flatten as the ponies guarding the fallen pegasus turn to look at both her and the screaming general. Velkorn simply shrugs as the breath Starfall had been holding finally seemed to be petering out.

“........ buckingshytwith a parasprite dropping pie to burytheir frakking head, by the grace of Celestia's firm slappable plot this bucking hurts like the hells.......”

“While I must admit to hear this from you is fun, we are pressed for time Starfall are you quite done?”

“Yeah I think I am good for about ten minutes. I don't even want to know how bad I look cause judging by how I feel it's probably like shit....... YOU CORPORAL...”

“Hooves sir, Dinky Hooves..... don't let the name fool you, I really am very big......errrrr, are you going to be alright, sir?”

“Forget that, get your group over to that big assed white dragon and help out General Kaisur. MOVE, DOUBLE TIME SOLDIERS!”

“YES SIR.”

The group charges off leaving Velkorn with Starfall.

“Shit that sucked.... So whats the verdict Velkorn... I can't really turn my head with out it hurting like freaking Tarturas hell. “

I will not know for sure, until the armor is gone only then can I cure.”

“Right got it. “

The armor of honesty slowly seems to melt away from Starfall's form. The pegasus screams out as the support that it gave to her broken wing and legs was removed. The pegasus' head bobbed as if she nearly blacked out from the pain, but she pushed it back.

The zebra gives her a moment to compose herself lifting her head to look around. Most of the Equestrian troops had rushed past, heading towards the thick of the battle closer to where Jer'rahd was. Several earth ponies were moving around the field checking the bodies for survivors. She watched as one lifted his fore hooves bringing them down and crushing something. She winced realizing they were hanging back to kill survivors of the dragon army. Velkorn bites her lip not liking this at all. The war in her homeland had been bad but it was mostly small skirmishes here and there, this was what it was like on the front lines and she was starting to doubt she could handle it.

“He Velkorn. You going to keep shivering or are you gonna help a mare out?”

The zebra blinks looking at Starfall. The pony had some how managed to lift herself up on two broken legs and remain standing long enough for the blood from her wounds to start running down her uninjured limbs. Velkorn growls glaring at the pegasus, Starfall flattens her ears and tries to look at least a little sheepish.

“You had better not even start with me, just take the armor off I said just so I could see. I swear if you are even remotely as bad as the other four, I will limit your pain killers and make you sleep on the floor.”

The Pegasus winced not entirely certain if the Zebra was serious or not, but the look in Velkorn's eyes told her not to push it.

“I'll be good.”

“Not entirely to be mean, but that yet remains to be seen.”

Velkorn moves closer slipping underneath the injured pegasus ignoring the protests from the smaller mare. She turns rapidly trotting off towards the medical tents, trying not to think about the blood running over her back from Starfall's wounds. She was also doing her best to tune out the constant stream of swears bursting from the purple maned pegasus' mouth.

=================================================

Jer'rahd looks over the small tent and sighs wincing lightly as he was being bandaged up rather inexpertly by Bleu as Velkorn tended to Starfall. Rhede had seen to his own injury though he was currently sitting by the tent flap watching the medics run around outside. Luna was stretched out on one of the beds barely con chesss, though she was fighting to keep from falling asleep. Jer'rahd was informing her of the situation as it currently stood.

“The Draconic forces were completely destroyed at best there might have be a dozen that made it away from the battle field. Unfortunately due to casualties we are down to half the force we initially came here with. Of those casualties only about ten percent will be able to continue the campaign if given a few days to recover. Most are either dead or too injured to continue in any reasonable length of time, if at all.”

“Do we have enough to take Cindervale? “

“It might be close Princess, but the force we just defeated was the strongest resistance we were likely to face. Anything else will be personal guard, reserves, and civilians. If nothing else we have crippled the dragons military might”

Rhede looks back into the tent.

“The white dragon you killed Jer was named Snowbeard he was one of the few gods remaining at Cindervale. The Red, Black,and White dragon gods are accounted for . All that’s left is Wisp Wing the Blue, and Swamp Claw the Green. From what has been gathered while they are gods they are both scholars and not in any shape for combat. They are also the two that actively protested against the war.”

“That does not matter Rhede. If they had wanted to stop the war they could have, the mission remains the same. General Kaisur how soon till we can march on Cindervale?”

“We could move now if we wished Princess, but after this battle I wanted to every pony at least a day to recover before they need to fight again. I can lead everyone out by this time tomorrow and we can be at Cindervale by nightfall. The city will not see the dawn.”

“I'm coming along as well Boss.”

“Like wise Jer.”

“No you both are injured and that could be a liability at this point.”

“So are you and so is every other pony you are commanding Jer. Besides I’ve cut myself worse trimming my hooves.”

“I saw this thing start at Dullahan Boss, I am going to be there to end it I don't care what you or Velky say.”

The zebra snorts in annoyance as if she just moved Bleu a rank up on a list.

“You should take them along General. It is always good to have some pony to watch your back. Velkorn will be too busy here and neither Starfall or I are in any shape to go with you. I am getting stronger with my casting, but I still have limits. I doubt I shall be much aid for several days. And we cannot wait that long. Cindervale may get word to the griffons or hire more mercenaries by that point. We need to strike now. “

Jer'rahd nods.

“It is as you say Princess. Now is the time to press the attack. Rhede, Bleu and I will go ready those who can. You three should make plans to begin the march back to Equestria. Staying here will just make you a target if another force arrives.”

“If I might suggest Princess that you let your sister know you are returning home, she may send out aid to help you bring back the wounded, if for nothing else to expedite the retreat she thinks you are performing. A letter to the Queens Cross may have the same result and bring in more aid to the wounded.”

“A valid idea Rhede. If she believes it.”

“So long as we do not mention our forces have split she may fall for it for a time, at least until she receives the numbers of those returning. This will unfortunately leave those still fighting behind the lines without any support past what they can carry.”

“We will take what we need from the ruins of Cindervale to make our way back Princess. I do not plan to leave anything alive that could rise against us now or anytime in the future.”

“I have one more request to that General.”

“What is that Princess?”

“I want you to find any dragon eggs you can and bring them back with you if able. If it is too much of a issue to secure them destroy them as well.”

“Eggs? What do you want the eggs for Luna?”

“Just that the only dragons you counted as friends were the ones raised by ponies. This could be a new start to that.”

“As you wish Princess.”

Jer'rahd turns heading out of the tent to prepare every pony to march the next day.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight blinks as the spell ends. She whips her head shivering at the tone Luna's voice took when she was asking for the eggs. It was far too similar to the dark tones that Nightmare Moon had first taunted Ponyville with.

The books were the source of Luna's power. What had even happened to them, the princess had not mentioned them at all. Perhaps they had been sealed in Tartarus like many other evils too vile for the gardens. The popular theory was that the changelings had come from there. But when Twilight returned Cerberus to his position as guard, the gates had still been sealed . Cerberus was not so much to keep things in as to keep any one out. The spells powering the place were more than enough to keep the evils inside at bay. She also had never found out why Cerberus had left his post.

“SWEET BABY CELESTIA ON A POGO STICK , MAKE IT STOP.... BLINK ALREADY!!”

Twilight turns to see a calm Fluttershy still staring at a violently twitching Pinkie pie. The pink pony had clearly had enough of the staring contest and was on the verge of blinking or laughing or something. The pale yellow pegasus still seemed unphased by Pinkies antics. The earth pony finally fell off the couch bawling and flailing on the floor rubbing her eyes.

“I can't do it, I just can't do it......not even Gummy is that good.”

Twilight glances at the clock her eyes widening.

“Have you two been staring each other down for the past three hours?”

“She's just so good look at her shes just sitting there staring, she truly is the stare master. I can't beat her Twilight I just can't ….....”

Twilight moves over to Fluttershy who still had not moved from her spot staring at the couch where pinkie had been.

“Wow Fluttershy, I'm impressed I didn't think any one could beat Pinkie in a staring contest.... ummm are you alright?”

Twilight leans a little closer to her friend ignoring Pinkie's carrying on behind her. A light whistle accompanied Fluttershy's breathing and Twilight narrowed her eyes poking her friend in the shoulder.

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy... Wake up, its time to go home. “

After a few pokes the pale pegasus blinks and yawns wide stretching out like a cat before glancing over to the shocked Pinkie Pie and the annoyed looking Twilight.

“Oh I'm sorry Twilight I think I dozed off for a moment, oh my goodness is it that late already? I need to go, Angel will be so worried about me. Sorry about that Pinkie Pie perhaps we can play another time. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you in the middle of our game. “

The pale pegasus trots to the door with a last wave to them both before darting off back to her cottage.

Comments

[Pilate]

Aww yeah, updates!
>20,000 words
> 1:15am

O_O

Guess I'm not sleeping

[TDR]

1185842 You think you got it bad i just posted it and its 4 am here.

[Tidaka]

Wow, Another amazing chapter, Blu is worst patient, Celestia might miss that title, or not. I love how well you break the action up with the wisecracks and antics of the cast. I wounder if Jer'rahd could get any more frightening, I'd say I doubt it but every time I have said that about him before I was wrong.

[cammerhammer]

You rickrolled us? that's really low, man

[Pilate]

1185866
Au contraire! I actually got excited! Reality hit me in the side with a sledge hammer, though, and I was reminded that I had a 9am meeting at work that required me to get a "healthy" amount of sleep.

[Pilate]

1185866
Just finished, great chapter as usual. A few grammar/spelling errors here and there, but nothing too crazy-town. The inevitable shit-storm when they all come face to face with Celestia again is something I'm really looking forward to! Hope to see the next chapter soon, I'm completely hooked on this.

[TDR]

1186407 You have no idea how long it took me to write that little part. I was laughing so hard the whole time i almost couldn't do it.

[MatsuriDream]

Squee!

[BarrenBaron]

damnit I just got Rick Roll'd by a story on FIMfic...

but hey a new chapter of this story so it's not all bad right? Also, did Starfall take swearing lessons from Little Pip?

[Bladelord]

Derpy's great to the umpth degree grand sire? YES!!!

[Balancer]

1188132I concur squeee

[Jphyper]

Woohoo! An update to a member of my primary watched stories list! Most of the stories I watch are to fill in the gaps between the big stories like this. 20k words... it's a big one, too!

Still quite a few punctuation and spelling errors, but as I've said before, your storytelling is good enough for me to not hold that against you. One thing I did want to point out is the spelling for the word "column".

“A bit of Column B, though mostly Column C.”

There was one other word I wanted to correct, but I don't remember what it was, and I'm not about to reread over 20k words just to find it. No author is that good.

[TDR]

1193331 Yeah just found that. That was a spell checker error Open office doesn't seem to know a great deal of words.

[Zanmatsuken]

TDR, have you ever played FF9 because I was listening to it's soundtrack earlier and my god some of the song fits perfectly for past scenes and scene that have yet to come.

[TDR]

1193947 played a bit of it though I never finished the game .

[Zanmatsuken]

1194050

Alright, time to make a point.
For the ambush
Clearly Jer's theme
What I imagine Jer's thoughts will be like after banishing Luna
Jer immediately after Luna is gone
If the story goes as I think it will, Jer after being released
Raid of Cinderville(if it will be as easy as thought
Whenever Jer fights a god
I can see this being how Luna feels
^^ same idea but a bit more somber

Just to show you that this is what I hear in my head when I read this fic; epic music.

[TDR]

1195230 Intresting a few of them fit very well. Some of the others.... not so much. Granted there's reasons but i can't spoil.

[Zanmatsuken]

1195503
So Jer is not going to be heartbroken after sending Luna to the moon but rather angry at himself. Or perhaps calm because he is willing to wait for eternity for her (I think I am reading too many ship fics). Interesting turn of events.

[TDR]

1224920 errr it was a implied Molestia joke that her hobby was a bit on the kinky side. not orgies in general.

[404 Mercy]

Wait ... shit I just got Rick Roll'd by a damn piece of literature ! And for some reason I could not be happier !

[CryptFS]

Why the hell isnt "Stories in Stone" featured in equestria daily???

I love how as this story progresses, the main charecters are slowly becoming more evil.
I hope this story dosent end soon because i am really looking forward to how the Cindervale campaign ends. And the political intrigues and struggle for power in canterlot between NMM and Celestia. I am guessing it will end in the war of the night. Also i am seriosly hoping the war of the night ark is a long one. I cant get enough of NMM as she in my opinion is the best villan and voerall i feel she is an underrated villan with Discord and Chrysalis taking all the spotlight recentley.

[TDR]

1236381 i have not submitted this to EQD in a while as I wanted to get the first few chapters redone. My grammer and such needs work. I am reciving help with that , but I'm a little lazy myself and prefer writing new chapters to editing old ones.

Trust me I have plans for each chapter and each chapter winds up being longer than I want to. The next chapter had 2 events in it in the lay out but once i started writing, it only covers one now.

Stories in Stone, Luna's Royal Guard; was supposed to end around chapter thirty initially..... Now i am shooting for around forty five ish.

[Pilate]

1239300

Stories in Stone, Luna's Royal Guard; was supposed to end around chapter thirty initially..... Now i am shooting for around forty five ish.

So... 55 or 60, then?

Also, anyone reading this have recommendations for other "in stone" stories? I feel like there has to be a few and it's a concept that this story makes me want to explore further.

[DaveTheBrony]

TDR this is without a doubt my favorite fic on FIMfiction. I will shed manly tears when it is over, both for seeing it complete and for it ending. Well done.

[RaptorCalloftheShadows]

1187989

dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_RageFace.png Author! You sick buck! D: Rickrolling, AND an arrow to the knee?!?

[_CheckMate_]

rick rolled, arrow to the knee, and another reference to the hooves family in a different timeline

-i am not sure if i should be offended or impressed

[Tjprower]

Luna was stretched out on one of the beds barely con chesss
barely con chesss
CON CHESSS
What?
I'm sorry, I usually can just over look it all. But this... I stopped immediately to reread the sentence to make sure I wasn't seeing things, and then burst out laughing when I realized I wasn't.

[Tigro Spottystripes]

For a moment i thought it was Derpy herself on the battle field (i assumed the gender pronouns being wrong was just another typing error), with the little i know about the Doctor it seems like this was one of the big events he might have a hand on influencing the outcome. Though that hypothesis was mostly shot down when the first name was said to be Dinky; though that made me worry Derpy's daughter was brought to a battlefield...but then someone in the comments talked about that pony just being an ancestral of the Hooves we know today and that kinda killed my original hypothesis completly.

[Tigro Spottystripes]

Oh, btw, sneaking references to memes into serious writing totally rocks!!!

[King of the Mad]

Anyone else notice the 'never gonna give you up' reference between Bleu and Rhede?

[kitten_girl86]

Luna was stretched out on one of the beds barely con chesss

"conscious"